South Carolina splits contractor licensing between two boards under the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, and they must never be confused.
Requirements checked against the South Carolina Contractor's Licensing Board (LLR); residential work falls under the separate SC Residential Builders Commission published requirements on September 29, 2026.
| Licensing board | Two boards under LLR: Contractor's Licensing Board (CLB) for commercial general and mechanical; Residential Builders Commission for residential builders and residential specialty trades |
|---|---|
| License required when | Commercial general or mechanical work over 10000 dollars (CLB); residential work over 5000 dollars (Residential Builders Commission) |
| What the state calls the qualifier | Primary Qualifying Party (PQP) |
| NASCLA exam accepted | yes (CLB toward Unlimited Building; Residential Builders Commission as technical exam waiver if passed within 3 years; SC Business Management and Law exam still required) |
| Reciprocity and endorsement | No official list; third party guides name Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, Utah as commonly recognized for exam equivalency, not confirmed on llr.sc.gov |
| Exam waivers | Board may waive the technical exam if the applicant passed an essentially equivalent exam in another state; the SC Business Management and Law exam is never waived |
| Experience required | CLB: 2 years within the past 5 years in the classification sought (waived for reciprocity or exam waiver applicants); Residential Builders Commission: 1 year under a licensee |
| Application and exam fees | License application fee not stated; PSI exam fees 75 dollars each for CLB law and technical exams, 116 dollars for NASCLA, 90 dollars for both residential portions |
| Renewal | General Contractor licenses expire October 31 in even numbered years; Mechanical Contractor licenses expire October 31 in odd numbered years; renewal 135 dollars every two years, with a late fee of 100 dollars in November rising to 200 dollars in January |
| Time to license | No official published turnaround; approved at scheduled board meetings; TLC field experience about 4 weeks, quote 90 days to be safe |
| Bond and financial requirements | Net worth by group: GC Group 1 20000, Group 2 60000, Group 3 150000, Group 4 250000, Group 5 350000 dollars; Mechanical Group 1 7000 to Group 5 300000 dollars; surety bond in equivalent amount accepted instead; residential financial requirements not confirmed |
| Penalty for unlicensed work | Not stated |
| Time to replace a qualifier | 15 days to notify the department; license stays valid 90 days; suspended if no replacement PQP certified within 90 days |
| Companies one qualifier may qualify | One licensee per qualifying party; narrow exception under Section 40 11 230(C) for two entities at the same location with daily involvement, livelihood from both, and at least fifty percent ownership in one |
Facts checked on July 14, 2026.
Each line was checked against the state board’s published requirements on the date shown. Not stated means the board material we reviewed did not state it, so we do not guess. Boards change rules; confirm the current figure with the board before you file.
The Contractor's Licensing Board licenses general and mechanical contractors, and since the 2023 law change a license is required when the total cost of construction is greater than $10,000. The Residential Builders Commission separately licenses residential builders when a job exceeds $5,000 and registers residential specialty contractors for work over $500. Commercial licenses are issued to the company, which qualifies through a primary qualifying party, an individual who holds the board's exam certificate and is responsible for directing or reviewing the company's work.
South Carolina requires a Qualifying Agent for all licensed contractor entities.
Commercial construction over 10000 dollars needs a license from the South Carolina Contractors Licensing Board; residential work over 5000 dollars (or 500 dollars for residential electrical) needs a license from the Residential Builders Commission. Each licensee must have a Primary Qualifying Party, generally one person per license, who qualifies the company with the board.
Commercial general or mechanical construction work needs a CLB license once a job exceeds 10000 dollars, under Section 40 11 30, the Licensing Requirement section of Title 40, Chapter 11. This figure was raised from 5000 dollars by House Bill 4115, enacted May 19, 2023, so 10000 dollars is the current, settled threshold. Residential work carries a separate, lower number: a Residential Builder license is required once the cost of a job exceeds 5000 dollars, for buildings up to three floors and up to sixteen units in a single apartment building (NASCLA summary of the South Carolina Residential Home Builders Licensing Law, checked against SC Residential Builders Commission pages). Residential electrical work has its own third, even lower number: licensure is required past 500 dollars (SC residential electrical page). These three thresholds apply to different kinds of work, commercial, general residential, and residential electrical, and should not be substituted for one another.
CLB General Contractor licenses run in five groups by maximum bid per single contract: Group 1 up to 100000 dollars, Group 2 up to 400000 dollars, Group 3 up to 1000000 dollars, Group 4 up to 3000000 dollars, and Group 5 unlimited (South Carolina Contractors Licensing Board). CLB Mechanical Contractor licenses run the same five group structure at lower dollar bands: Group 1 up to 35000 dollars, Group 2 up to 100000 dollars, Group 3 up to 200000 dollars, Group 4 up to 400000 dollars, Group 5 unlimited. General Contractor classifications include Unlimited Building and Limited Building (capped at three stories), plus Asphalt Paving, Bridges, Concrete, Grading, Highway, Roofing, Swimming Pools, Wood Frame Structures, and more. Mechanical Contractor classifications are Air Conditioning, Electrical, Heating, Lightning Protection, Packaged Equipment, Plumbing, Process Piping, and Refrigeration. Confirm exactly how each classification maps to its bid and net worth group directly with the board before relying on it.
South Carolina calls the qualifier the Primary Qualifying Party, or PQP. The law is direct on the count: an individual may only serve as qualifying party for one licensee. There is one narrow exception: under Section 40 11 230(C), two entities may share a single qualifying party only if all four conditions are met, both operate out of the same physical location, that person is involved daily in both operations, that person derives a livelihood from both, and that person holds ownership in both entities with at least fifty percent ownership in one of the two (South Carolina Legislature, Section 40 11 230). The ownership stake is a required fourth condition, not an optional detail; location and daily involvement alone do not qualify an agent for this exception.
The exact wording of this rule matters. When a Primary Qualifying Party disassociates from a company, the licensee has 15 days to notify the department in writing. The license then remains in good standing for 90 days, but that 90 days counts from the date the department receives notice of the disassociation, not from the date the qualifier actually left (Section 40 11 230, South Carolina Legislature, checked September 22, 2026). Because notice can legally be filed as late as day 15, the real outer edge of this clock, measured from the day the qualifier left, can run to roughly 105 days, not a flat 90. If no replacement PQP is designated within the 90 days from notice, the department suspends the license. Separately, and this is a distinct risk from the suspension, the statute provides that failing to notify the department within the 15 day window may itself result in license and certificate cancellation, a harder consequence than suspension. The safe approach is to notify the department within 15 days of the departure, which then leaves 90 more days from that notice to name a replacement; the clock should not be assumed to run a full 90 days from the day the qualifier left. Both the one person, one license rule and this replacement deadline come from the same statute, Section 40 11 230: the 15 day notice window, the 90 day cure period measured from notice, and the possible 105 day outer edge measured from the actual departure date are all part of the same provision.
PSI administers every technical exam, the South Carolina Business Management and Law for Commercial Contractors exam required for CLB applicants, and a separate South Carolina Business Management and Law exam required for Residential Builders Commission applicants (PSI Exams). The passing score on both the technical and the law exam is 70 percent under the CLB statute. CLB technical exams are waived only for a short list of classifications: Masonry, Highway Incidental, Structural Shapes, and Railroad Lines. On the residential side, Part One technical passing scores vary by trade from 65 to 73.3 percent, and the Business Management and Law exam needs a scale score of 68.
South Carolina is a two board NASCLA state. The CLB accepts the National Commercial Building Contractor Examination, 115 questions with 81 correct needed to pass, toward its Unlimited Building classification. The Residential Builders Commission accepts the same NASCLA exam as a technical exam waiver for the Residential Builder license, valid if passed within the last 3 years, though a residential license obtained this way is limited and still requires subcontracting out any mechanical trade work (NASCLA, SC Residential Builders Commission). Both the CLB and the Residential Builders Commission also appear on NASCLA's separate electrical exam participating agency list, checked September 22, 2026, meaning South Carolina's two board NASCLA acceptance is not limited to the commercial building exam; the same two boards also recognize the NASCLA electrical contractors exam. Either way, the South Carolina Business Management and Law exam is still required on top of any NASCLA exam.
This section covers the four exams that matter most for South Carolina licensing: the two required CLB exams for the standard commercial general contractor path, the NASCLA route the CLB accepts as an alternative to its own trade exam, and the combined Residential Builders Commission exam program. All four are built and delivered by PSI Services LLC (PSI candidate portal).
Every CLB commercial applicant except Burglar Alarm and Fire Alarm candidates must pass this exam in addition to a technical trade exam. It is scheduled through PSI at PSI South Carolina contractor exams, by phone at 855 340 3701 (Monday through Friday 7:30 am to 10:00 pm and Saturday and Sunday 9:00 am to 5:30 pm Eastern), or by the mail and fax options listed in the bulletin's table of contents. It has 50 questions, a 125 minute time limit, and requires 35 correct answers, 70 percent, to pass. It is open book. The content outline has 11 areas with item counts: Business Management (2), Estimating and Bidding (10), Contracts and Agreements (12), Project Management (5), Insurance and Bonding (2), Safety Recordkeeping and Reporting (1), Labor Laws and Employment Regulations (3), Financial Management (7), Tax Laws (3), Liens (3), and Environmental Laws and Regulations (2). The bulletin names one reference book directly: NASCLA Contractors Guide to Business, Law and Project Management, South Carolina Commercial Contractors edition, 9th Edition, available through PSI Online Store. Reference books may be highlighted, underlined, or indexed but not written in, and may not contain loose inserted papers. Tabs are allowed only if permanent, meaning they would tear the page if removed; temporary tabs such as Post it style tabs must be removed before the exam starts. The retake rule here is unusual: unlike the technical exams, this exam may be taken an unlimited number of times within a 12 month period. The fee is 75 dollars, and PSI caps any single testing day at 6 hours of total scheduled testing.
This is the standard CLB technical exam for general contractors who are not using the NASCLA route; it covers construction and remodeling in Groups 1 through 3, capped at 3 stories in height. Scheduling is the same as the Business Law exam above, through PSI's sccon portal or the same phone line. It has 80 questions, a 5 hour time limit, and requires 56 correct answers, 70 percent, to pass. It is open book. The content outline covers Sitework (7 items), Concrete (10), Masonry (10), Metals (10), Carpentry (12), Thermal and Moisture Protection (9), Doors and Windows (2), Finishes (2), Safety (5), and General Code, Plan Reading and Estimating (13). The bulletin lists a full reference set with editions: the 2021 International Building Code with SC modifications, or the 2018 or 2021 South Carolina Building Code (International Code Council); Code of Federal Regulations 29 CFR Part 1926 OSHA, latest amendments; Modern Masonry, Clois E. Kicklighter, 9th edition, 2020 (Goodheart Willcox); Technical Digest No. 9, Handling and Erection of Steel Joists and Joist Girders, 2008 or 2025 (Steel Joist Institute); Carpentry and Building Construction, John L. Feirer and Mark D. Feirer, 2010 or 2016 edition (McGraw Hill); Roofing Construction and Estimating, Daniel Atcheson, 1995 (Craftsman Book Company); Contractor's Guide to Quality Concrete Construction, 2nd Edition, 1998 (American Concrete Institute); Pipe and Excavation Contracting, Dave Roberts, 2011 (Craftsman Book Company); and the South Carolina 811 Excavator Manual, latest edition. The same tabbing and highlighting rules apply, permanent tabs only. The retake rule for this and every other CLB technical exam, alarm classifications excepted, is 2 attempts in a 12 month period, then only 1 attempt every 6 months after that. The fee is 75 dollars.
This is the multi state exam the CLB accepts toward its Unlimited Building classification in place of the state specific technical trade exam, and it is the same exam the Residential Builders Commission accepts as a technical waiver. The PSI bulletin, updated 5/15/2025, gives the current count: 115 questions, a 330 minute (5.5 hour) time limit, and 81 correct answers needed to pass. The bulletin does not restate this as a round percentage, but 81 of 115 is about 70 percent, consistent with the rest of the CLB program. Scheduling runs through the same PSI sccon channel as the other CLB exams. It is open book. The content outline: General Requirements (25 items), Site Construction (15), Concrete (6), Masonry (4), Metals (6), Wood (5), Thermal and Moisture Protection (5), Doors, Windows and Glazing (4), Finishes (5), Mechanical and Plumbing Systems (6), Electrical Systems (3), and Procurement and Contracting Requirements (31, the single largest content area on this exam). The reference list is long and the bulletin gives specific editions: Mechanical and Electrical Systems for Construction Managers, 4th Edition, 2024 (American Technical Publishers); ICC A117.1 2017 Standard for Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities; BCSI Guide to Good Practice for Handling, Installing, Restraining and Bracing of Metal Plate Connected Wood Trusses, 2018 (updated March 2020) or 2025 edition; Carpentry and Building Construction, 2016 edition; Code of Federal Regulations 29 CFR Part 1926, 2023 edition; Construction Jobsite Management, 4th edition 2017 or 5th edition 2024; Construction Project Management, 4th edition 2014 or 5th edition 2022; NASCLA Contractors Guide to Business, Law and Project Management, Basic, 14th Edition; Erectors' Manual, Standards and Guidelines for the Erection of Pre Cast Concrete Products, 2nd Edition, 1999; Green Building Fundamentals, Michael Montoya, 2nd edition, 2011; Gypsum Construction Handbook, 7th edition, 2014; Technical Digest No. 9, 3rd Edition, 2008; International Building Code, 2021 or 2024; Roofing Construction and Estimating, 1995, reprinted 2022; Placing Reinforcing Bars Recommended Practices, 10th edition, 2019 or later printing; SDI Manual of Construction with Steel Deck, 2016; The Contractor's Guide to Quality Concrete Construction, 4th Edition, 2018; the EPA's Developing Your Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan guide, 2007; and ANSI/EIMA 99 A 2017, Standard for Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems. The same permanent tabs only rule applies. The same retake pattern used for other CLB technical exams, 2 attempts in a 12 month period, then 1 attempt per 6 months after that, appears to apply to this exam as well; confirm the exact retake rule for this exam with the board before relying on it. The fee is 116 dollars, the most expensive single exam PSI lists for South Carolina contractors.
These are grouped together because the Commission requires both within the same window. A candidate must first apply to the state and receive an Examination Eligibility letter, valid for 1 year, before PSI will schedule either exam; both required exams must be passed within that 12 month eligibility window, and a candidate gets 3 attempts total in that window before having to wait 12 months from the last attempt to try again. Scheduling runs through PSI SC residential builder exams or the same PSI phone line, 855 340 3701. Business Management and Law for Residential Builders has 50 questions, a 120 minute time limit, and needs 34 correct answers, 68 percent, to pass; the bulletin notes that this passing score may change as exam performance is evaluated. The Residential Builder technical exam has 110 questions, a 360 minute (6 hour) time limit, and needs 77 correct answers, 70 percent, to pass, with the same note that the score may be revised. Both are open book. Business Law's outline covers Business Management (2 items), Licensing Laws and Rules (2), Estimating and Bidding (8), Contracts and Agreements (7), Project Management (7), Insurance and Bonding (5), Safety Recordkeeping and Reporting (1), Labor Laws and Employment Regulations (3), Financial Management (4), Tax Laws (5), Liens (3), and Environmental Laws and Regulations (3). The Residential Builder technical outline covers General Building Construction (74 items, spanning general carpentry, concrete and reinforcement, estimating and plan reading, masonry, roofing, and sitework, footings and foundations), Residential Electrical (12), Residential HVAC (12), and Residential Plumbing (12); this exam is capped to one, two, or multifamily residences not exceeding 3 stories or 16 units in a single apartment building, matching the threshold described elsewhere on this page. Named references with editions: NASCLA Contractors Guide to Business, Law and Project Management, South Carolina Residential Builders edition, 8th Edition, for the law exam; and for the technical exam, the South Carolina or International Residential Code for One and Two Family Dwellings, 2021 edition, or the IRC Commentary Volumes 1 and 2; Carpentry and Building Construction, 2010 or 2016 edition; The Contractor's Guide to Quality Concrete Construction, 3rd Edition, 2005; Modern Masonry, 9th or 10th edition; BCSI, 2013 edition; and the Gypsum Construction Handbook, 7th Edition, 2014. The same permanent tabs only rule applies, and candidates are issued scratch paper and a pencil at the center that must be returned at checkout. Fees as listed in the bulletin's own table: Residential Examination, Both Portions, 90 dollars; Residential Examination, One Portion, 75 dollars; Residential HVAC, 100 dollars; NASCLA Residential Electrical, 116 dollars. The bulletin does not itemize a separate standalone fee line for the Residential Plumbing or state specific Residential Electrical technical exams beyond these categories; confirm the exact fee for those two exams with PSI before relying on a number.
Both bulletins list the same 6 physical center locations: Greenville/Spartanburg, Columbia, Charleston (North Charleston), Beaufort/Hilton Head, and Myrtle Beach in South Carolina, plus Charlotte, North Carolina as a built in neighboring option inside the South Carolina bulletin itself. The CLB bulletin adds that PSI operates centers in many other regions nationally and a candidate may test at any of them once registered. Neither the CLB bulletin (updated 5/15/2025) nor the Residential bulletin (updated 4/15/2025) mentions remote or online proctoring anywhere in the scheduling, security, or computer based testing sections; both describe an in person, computer based test at a physical PSI center only. PSI's own general marketing pages describe a broader online proctoring option across its 35 state contractor licensing book of business, but neither bulletin confirms that option as active for South Carolina's commercial or residential contractor programs; these exams should be treated as in person only unless PSI confirms otherwise.
All four exams are administered by computer with a short untimed tutorial (up to 15 minutes) before the clock starts, one question per screen, and an on screen pass/fail result at the end. Candidates need one valid, unexpired government issued photo ID matching the name on the registration. Only silent, battery powered, non printing, non programmable calculators are allowed at the seat; personal items including phones, watches, bags, and outerwear that could conceal notes must go into site storage. A small number of unscored experimental or pretest questions, generally 5 to 10, may appear on any of these exams and count against the clock but are never scored. For every exam here, if a code, law, or regulation conflicts with another authorized reference, the code, law, or regulation wins, and questions are always written to the specific edition of any named code book, even though most non code references can be studied from later editions as they are published.
Source bulletins: South Carolina Contractor's Licensing Board, Commercial Contractor, Candidate Information Bulletin, PSI Services LLC, updated 5/15/2025; South Carolina Residential Builders Commission, Residential Builders and Residential Specialty Examinations, Candidate Information Bulletin, PSI Services LLC, updated 4/15/2025 (checked July 14, 2026).
CLB applicants need at least 2 years of verifiable work experience within the past 5 years for the specific classification sought, waived only for applicants coming in on a reciprocity or exam waiver basis (South Carolina Legislature, Title 40 Chapter 11). Residential Builders Commission applicants need 1 year of Commission approved experience working under the supervision of a licensee in the trade before becoming eligible to sit the exam (SC residential builders exam page).
CLB net worth minimums scale with the group. General Contractor: Group 1 needs 20000 dollars, Group 2 needs 60000 dollars, Group 3 needs 150000 dollars, Group 4 needs 250000 dollars, Group 5 needs 350000 dollars. Mechanical Contractor: Group 1 needs 7000 dollars, Group 2 needs 15000 dollars, Group 3 needs 30000 dollars, Group 4 needs 60000 dollars, Group 5 needs 300000 dollars (South Carolina Contractors Licensing Board). Groups 1 and 2 can submit an owner prepared financial statement with an affidavit of accuracy, Groups 3 and 4 need a CPA compiled statement for the initial application, and Group 5 needs an audited statement initially and a reviewed statement at renewal. A surety bond in an equivalent amount is accepted in place of a financial statement at any group. Confirm whether a financial statement or bond requirement tiered the same way applies to Residential Builders directly with the Commission before relying on a number.
An official processing turnaround time, in days or weeks, for CLB or Residential Builders Commission applications is not stated in the board materials reviewed for this page. The board reviews and approves applications at scheduled board meetings, and the site publishes meeting agendas but not a standard processing day count. Confirm current processing expectations directly with the board. In practice, approvals have often taken about 4 weeks; planning conservatively for up to 90 days is a reasonable approach until the board confirms a specific timeline for a given application.
The Residential Builder application page adds a procedural detail: an online application must be completed and submitted within 30 days of starting it, and once submitted the applicant has up to 1 year to finish supplying all required supporting information before the application lapses. That is an applicant side deadline, not a measure of how long the Commission itself takes to approve a completed file. The Commission also switched to a new electronic application platform in 2026; anyone who started an application on the prior platform before February 2, 2026 must create a new account on the new platform to continue (SC Residential Builders Commission).
General Contractor licenses expire October 31 in even numbered years. Mechanical Contractor licenses expire October 31 in odd numbered years, a deliberately staggered cycle (South Carolina Contractors Licensing Board). The renewal schedule is as follows: General Contractor licenses expire October 31 in even numbered years; Mechanical Contractor licenses expire October 31 in odd numbered years; renewal costs 135 dollars every two years, with a late fee of 100 dollars in November rising to 200 dollars in January.
A single consolidated reciprocity table is not stated in the board materials reviewed for this page, but the CLB does maintain an official Technical Exam Waiver Agreement list, hosted on South Carolina LLR (llr.sc.gov/clb/PDFFILES/WAIVER AGREEMENTS.pdf). The statute allows the board to waive the technical exam if an applicant can verify they passed an exam in another state that is essentially the same as South Carolina's required exam; the South Carolina Business Management and Law exam is never waived (South Carolina Legislature, Title 40 Chapter 11). That waiver reaches only the technical trade exam, not the state specific law exam, no matter which other state's exam is being credited. The participating states commonly associated with that list are Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah, drawn from summaries of that document rather than a line by line read of it; only Pennsylvania's place on the list has been separately confirmed. Confirm the complete, current list directly with the board before relying on a specific state pair. Waiver and reciprocity applicants must have passed the relevant Master Electrical or Master Plumbing exam after January 1, 1990, or the Master Mechanical or HVAC exam after September 6, 2013, and a license that was itself grandfathered or exam waived into another state does not qualify for a waiver into South Carolina; the underlying exam has to have actually been passed. A single flat table covering every state pair and classification is not stated in the board materials reviewed for this page; confirm the specific pair of states and classification with the board before relying on a waiver.
On the commercial side, electrical, HVAC or air conditioning, heating, plumbing, refrigeration, process piping, and lightning protection all run through the CLB as Mechanical Contractor classifications, using the same five group, bid limit, and net worth structure as General Contractor licenses, just at lower dollar bands. On the residential side, electrical, HVAC, and plumbing are licensed separately as Residential Specialty Contractor licenses through the Residential Builders Commission, with their own PSI exam track (SC Residential Builders Commission pages). Effective January 1, 2026, the Carolinas AGC, known as CAGC, became the approved certification provider for Master Electrician, Master Plumber, and Master Mechanical or HVAC certifications used in these specialty licensing routes, replacing the Municipal Association of South Carolina, known as MASC, which issued those same certifications from December 1990 through December 2025. Certifications MASC already issued in that window remain valid; anyone testing now goes through CAGC instead, and applicants holding an older MASC certification should contact CAGC directly for a certification verification letter (SC residential electrical page, checked September 22, 2026). A current Master Electrician certification from either provider lets an applicant skip the technical portion of the Residential Electrician exam, though the Business Management and Law portion is still required. Separate exam waiver paths also exist for anyone holding an active SC Mechanical Contractor license with the Electrical classification for a year or more, a current North Carolina or Mississippi electrical license held by examination for a year or more, or a NASCLA Residential Electrical Contractors exam pass within the last 3 years.
The most important clarification concerns the 90 day replacement clock for a departed Primary Qualifying Party. Under Section 40 11 230, the license stays in good standing for ninety days from the date the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation receives notice of the disassociation, not ninety days from the date the qualifier actually left. Because the licensee has up to 15 days to file that notice, the outer edge of this window, measured from the day the qualifier left, can run to about 105 days rather than a flat 90. The statute also treats a missed 15 day notice deadline as a separate risk: failing to notify within that window can itself lead to license and certificate cancellation, apart from the 90 day suspension for not naming a replacement. See the qualifying section below for the full replacement rules.
The 10000 dollar commercial licensing threshold is set in Section 40 11 30 (Licensing Requirement). Section 40 11 410 covers license classifications, a separate matter addressed elsewhere on this page.
The handoff of Master Electrician, Master Plumber, and Master Mechanical or HVAC certification from the Municipal Association of South Carolina (MASC) to Carolinas AGC (CAGC) is confirmed on the South Carolina LLR residential electrical page. The South Carolina LLR also maintains a Technical Exam Waiver Agreement list naming the states whose exams it will accept in place of its own technical exam; Pennsylvania is included on that list. Confirm the full roster of participating states directly with the board before relying on it for a specific pair of states.
Both the Contractors Licensing Board and the Residential Builders Commission appear on NASCLA's electrical exam participating agency list, not only its commercial building exam list. Residential electrical work carries its own threshold, separate from the general residential and commercial numbers: licensure is required once a job exceeds 500 dollars, a lower figure than the 5000 dollar general residential trigger. The Residential Builders Commission also moved to a new electronic application platform in 2026; anyone who started an application on the prior platform before February 2, 2026 must create a new account on the new platform to continue.
Two separate boards split this work, both operating under the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. The South Carolina Contractor's Licensing Board (the CLB) licenses commercial General Contractors and Mechanical Contractors (SC Contractors Licensing Board). The South Carolina Residential Builders Commission licenses Residential Builders and Residential Specialty Contractors, covering residential electrical, HVAC, and plumbing work (SC Residential Builders Commission). Whether a project is commercial or residential determines which board, and which rules on this page, apply.
Official Licensing Authority
All contractor license applications, renewals, and qualifying agent changes must go through this board.
We place a licensed qualifying agent with your company as a full time W-2 employee and prepare the qualifier filing with the South Carolina Contractor's Licensing Board (LLR); residential work falls under the separate SC Residential Builders Commission. Tell us your trade and what you have going on, and pick a time for a discovery call. Or call 615-219-2110.
Provide your information for a compliance assessment.
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